


The Secrets in the Dark

by DescendantQueen



Series: Stories with Updating Schedules [7]
Category: Kaitou Saint Tail
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Anxious Mimori Seira, Apathetic Original Character, Bad Parenting, Child Neglect, Consensual Underage Sex, Crimes & Criminals, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Dark, Dark Character, Dysfunctional Family, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Family Issues, First Kiss, First Time, Foster Care, Foster Kid Mimori Seira, Gen, Jealousy, Loss of Parent(s), Loss of Trust, Loss of Virginity, Mommy Issues, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Nonverbal Communication, Original Character is bad at feelings, Past Relationship(s), Platonic Cuddling, Protectiveness, Rating: M, Secrets, Sister-Sister Relationship, Stalking, Triggers, Violence, Yandere
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:42:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27362176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DescendantQueen/pseuds/DescendantQueen
Summary: After Seira's father dies, she has to contend with her apathetic mother, who may actually cares for her in her own twisted way. Seira slowly starts to learn about her mother's past relationship with a man who doesn't like the fact that Seira is from another man. Sawatari tries his best to be there for Seira but what will happen when things start to pop up all of the sudden?Set after "Even if it's for a Minute" but that is in here as a prologue so you don't have to worry about missing anything.(Posted under same title on Fanfiction.net)
Relationships: Mimori Seira/Sawatari Manato
Series: Stories with Updating Schedules [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1834936





	1. Prologue

The blonde-haired photographer was in the church as he wanted to see her, even if it was for a second. It was then that he noticed her lovely features and he smiled at her but he then remembered what Meimi had told him. "She's grieving right now, Sawatari. Don't approach her like you would usually do." The girl had warned, knowing that the young man would want to still talk to her but she warned him to be gentle with Seira at the moment.

"Mimori-chan?" He called out to her softly and he watched as the girl stiffened as he watched her rub her eyes before she turned to him with a soft but sad smile. It panged his heart to see her hurting but there was nothing he could do. Seira had completely closed herself off to deal with the painful loss. No one blamed her as the girl had been with her father for a couple of years now and now, he was gone.

Usually, Seira would be able to bounce back in a week but this wasn't a temporarily leave. It was a permanent leave. The man had died a week ago and it still pained Seira because she was there. She was there when her father had gotten stabbed. She was there when her father had spilled his blood all over her. She was there when someone used her to kill her father.

Sawatari shuddered as he remembered that the funeral was tomorrow and it seemed that Seira had already turned in her letter of leave to the church as she didn't want to become a nun anymore. Sawatari hated seeing her so heartbroken. Even if it was only for a second, he wanted to ease the pain she felt in her heart. He wanted to help her, to hold her, to protect her. But, he couldn't do that to her. Not when she was grieving the loss of her father.

He didn't want to burden her with more emotions but he wanted to let her know that she could depend on him.

"Sawatari-kun?" She called out to him and he looked up at her as he noticed her purple eyes glisten with unshed tears. It panged Sawatari's heart because he knew that she was scarred by the violent way her father was taken from her. He approached her as he hugged her gently.

"I'm here. I'm here." He repeated to her as he waited from Seira to sob into his arms as she stilled in his arms. Then, he heard it. At first, it was soft but it turned into pained wailing but Sawatari refused to let her go. He wanted her to get that people still cared for her. Even if it's for a second, God. Please, God. Let me show her how much I feel for her. He thought as he pressed his lips to her forehead, not wanting to scare her as she cried in his arms. "No matter what, Mimori-chan, I'll be here for you." He promised her, hugging Seira as the girl had started calming down as her wailing turned to hiccups.

"I..." Her voice cracked but for some reason, Sawatari seemed to understand what the girl had said as he nodded his head. "Thank you." Seira was able to say those two words to him and the young man smiled at her, glad to be of service to the heartbroken girl. Even if it was for a second, I was able to hold her in my arms. He thought as he waited for her to look back up at him once again.

Sawatari promised to himself that he could forever be there for Seira, no matter what, because that's what she deserved.


	2. Chapter 1

It has been a week since Seira's father had died and frankly, she was _not_ doing okay. Grief was still hitting her like a truck and she _hated_ it. She really _hated_ it. Hate was an emotion that the girl never really felt so the fact that she was feeling it for the very first time was scaring her. _Why am I so mad?_ Seira thought as she prayed furiously to God for forgiveness about hating _something_. She didn't understand it was that she hated but she hated _something_.

What Seira didn't realize was that she was stage two of grief, which was anger.

She needed someone to ground her and fast. Seira knew that she was slipping but she was there. _It was her fault!_

_It was **her** fault that her father had gotten murdered!_

_It was **her** fault for not running away!_

_It was **her** fault for freezing up!_

Seira hadn't realized that she had begun sobbing again as she sobbed against the cross. She just wanted _someone_ to help her, to hold her.

She wanted her mother.

Seira wanted the one person she could barely talk to flinching away from.

Seira wanted the reason why she had stayed with her father.

Seira wanted the woman that had been investigated so many times.

And yet, she loved the woman with all of her heart, even though...

Seira knows that she had the right to hate her.

After all, this was the same woman that simply looked at her when she was told that the girl had anxiety because she was constantly worrying about things as a child and it disrupted everything she did, including her schoolwork. Seira knew that the woman had somewhat cared, it was just that her mother couldn't find the time to comfort her when she had anxiety attacks, leaving Seira to be even more anxious than normal. The poor child refused to take antidepressants because the medicine made her feel no sort of emotion and that definitely scared her when she was ten.

Seira was already a shy child but finding out she was anxiety-ridden made her even more shyer because she thought that she wouldn't be able to make any friends because of it. She was already considered weird because she was so quiet but now that she had found out about anxiety, Seira just wanted to stick to herself and hopefully not get caught up in anything bad.

Now, that she was a teen and just now without a father, Seira knew that she had to talk to the woman. _Did she even know?_ Seira then shook the thought out of her head. Seira knew that the woman didn't know about the man's death. After all, they were divorced and she hated talking about him in Seira's presence.

The thought of her mother not wanting anything to do with Seira made the girl start breathing very heavily. _Wait, no! I need to calm down! I need to breathe!_ Seira's thoughts were screaming at her to calm down but she couldn't.

She couldn't calm down.

She _needed_ to breathe normally.

She _wanted_ to breathe normally.

Seira then started wheezing as she tried to get her breathing under control. She reached out and she felt something _warm_. Seira shrieked a little, making her breaths come even more harsher and it caused her to feel chest pain as she tried to keep herself from panicking even more. She wanted to calm down. She _need_ to calm down!

"Seira!" _Who was that?_ Seira couldn't rationalize anything.

"Can you breathe out of your nose for me, sweetie?" _Oh yeah, I can do that! I can definitely do that!_ Seira wanted to breathe like a normal person again.

"Take slow breaths." The person commanded her. _Oh yeah, I can do that! Give me more time! I can do that!_ Seira's thoughts were still raging at her. "In and out through your nose, Seira." The person spoke as Seira shook as she tried to breath with the person who was helping her. _Who is helping me?_ Seira needed to know _exactly_ who was with her. "Sweetie, it's okay." The person placed a hand on her shoulders, keeping her grounded. "I know you're unable to focus on everything but I need you to hear me, Seira. Who am I?" The person, no, a woman. It was a woman. Seira wanted to cry in relief. It was a woman helping her!

Seira recognized that voice! How could she _not_ recognize the one woman that wanted to foster her? "E-e...san." It was horrible but she spoke.

"Yes, sweetie, it's me." Haneoka Eimi had found Seira hyperventilating near the cross and she had rushed to the girl to help her. Now, that she had accessed the situation a lot better, Eimi had now realized that Seira had another anxiety attack. _Poor thing. I know having anxiety is hard but this is her fourth anxiety attack this week alone._ Eimi was very concerned as to what could be causing it but she also knew that Seira was a worrywart but she didn't want to just leave Seira in her agony.

"Eimi-san." Seira's voice was returning back to her as she able to say the woman's name in it's entirely this time around. _Thank God she was able to call out to me this time around._ The woman thought as she smiled softly at the teenager. Seira had just now realized that she had leaned against the cross and she immediately pulled herself up, only to almost fall as she hadn't realized that her body had felt so light. Eimi caught her by her middle section as she lifted the girl onto a pew to let her sit.

"Collect your breathing, Seira." Eimi softly muttered to Seira as she played with the girl's hair and when Seira had caught her breath fully this time, Eimi was right beside her. "What was that?" She asked softly.

"Oh. It was nothing." Seira spoke as she didn't want to tell Eimi that she was too scared to talk to her mother about her father's death.

"Sweetie, darling. I know you're terrified, but I need you to trust me. What made you so anxious that it caused you to go straight into an anxiety attack?" Eimi asked the girl and that was when Seira had understood that Eimi was showing genuine concern for her and it caused the girl to laugh.

"It's my mother." Seira didn't have to elaborate. Almost **everyone** in town knew about her mother.

"You were worried about telling her and getting a lack of a proper response." Eimi wasn't asking. She knew how the woman rolled and she hated it affected Seira so much because of the girl's anxiety.


	3. Chapter 2

After Seira had spoken to Eimi about her worries about her mother's response, Eimi had frowned as she spoke to Seira about her mother. "Seira, I know it's hard to believe that your mother does care about you but she's really difficult to understand." Eimi was _not_ justifying the woman's bad parenting as she knew that it was the bad parenting that had made Seira so anxious to even be around her own mother. She knew what Seira thought and it pained her. She knew that Seira thought that her mother didn't love her.

Eimi knew that Seira thought that her mother didn't want her.

Eimi knew that Seira believes that her mother wanted to have an abortion and yet...

Eimi believes that the woman actually _cares_ for Seira. _In her own **twisted** way, yes but it's the thought that counts. _Eimi couldn't even believe her own thoughts about Seira's mother because Mimori Akari is an absent mother. That was the entire reason why Seira thinks she unwanted by her. That's why Eimi wants to kill the woman so _damn_ much.

"I haven't seen her in so long. What if she _really_ doesn't care about me? About Dad's death?" Seira spoke as she choked on her own sobs and Eimi pulled Seira into a hug as she pressed her lips to her forehead. Eimi didn't have an answer for her because Seira knew that the woman knew. If Akari hadn't came back to even _check up_ on Seira, then why would she care to tend to her grieving daughter.

* * *

In another city...

Mimori Akari huffed as she sipped on the shot glass that she had. She wondered why time was going by so slowly but then again, she didn't really care. She didn't have anywhere _important_ to be. "There she goes again, drinking her life away." One person spoke as they talked about the woman who had cold purple eyes, compared to Seira's friendly purple eyes.

"You would think that she would go back to her kid." Another person spoke.

"Some _mother_ she is." The words of the people angered Akari as she wanted to go one night without people mentioning her dear, lovely child.

Akari merely huffed, knowing that it will only put her in such more sour mood if she responded to their jeers. The woman was mostly cold towards other people, even her own family, which was why people assume that she doesn't even care about her own _life_. _They don't know anything about me. They don't know jack shit about what I've been through. That kid is none of their concern._ Akari's thoughts then went elsewhere as she thought about her child. Akari then huffed as she broke herself out of the thoughts she didn't want to have about the girl.

She knew that she should have gone and seen the child but it had been so long. Akari just wished that the kid could just _fucking_ forget about her already but she knew that would never happen. She still had the girl's picture from when she was a first year in middle school and as she fingered the picture, she frowned as she noticed the similarities between her and Seira. "Seira." It had been years that she had even spoke the girl's name out loud but she had never forgotten the girl's name.

No, she wasn't that cruel as to forget the name of her own child.

She never used the girl's name ever since she had left her with her father because she knew that the girl would do better with the man than with her.

Well, that's what she wanted to believe as she ignored the feelings of anger that continued to bubble up in her gut to the people in the bar talking _shit_ about her.

Akari then growled as she paid for her drinks and stalked out of the bar with an angry huff. _They don't understand. None of them would ever understand._ The woman thought as she slowly learned that she couldn't care for the people she loved. _If I care longer than I have to, they would learn to stop caring but it's not like any of them actually misses me._ Akari thought as she made a humming sound.

After that thought, her phone rung and the woman stopped as she had a guess as to who that was. She then stared at the ground. _Stop calling me, foolish girl._ The woman thought as she pulled out her phone to tell the girl this but when she answered, it wasn't Seira on the phone. It was Haneoka. Haneoka Eimi. _Come back to Seika City, she says. The kid needs me, she says._ The woman thought. "Damn it, Akari, Eiichi is _fucking_ dead!" The woman finally shouted at Akari and the words she had just spoken to Akari just the woman to jumped where she was standing as she allowed shock to enter her thought process.

"Why am I not surprised?" Akari spoke as she listened as Eimi's breathed in her throat at her response.

"Wh-what?" Eimi was horrified and Akari noticed as she continued to speak.

"Seika City has a high crime rate. I'm not surprised that the man is dead." That was not what Akari wanted to say at all but she had already said it and she could practically feel Eimi's teeth grinding.

"Seira's going to be living with me from now on." The woman hung up the phone, making Akari actually laugh at the woman's words.

"Have fun with an anxiety-ridden kid." Akari was glad that Eimi had hung the phone as she knew that what she had just said was totally out of line. _She is innocent. I should leave her out of my name-calling._ Akari reminded herself about the girl's innocence as she continued to walk back to her apartment. When she arrived back at her apartment, Akari had suddenly realized everything she had just said but she then realized that she couldn't take any of it back.

"Oh well, I don't care what the kid thinks." Akari spoke as she grabbed a bottle of liquor, happily willing to get drunk after having such an _delightful_ conversation with Haneoka Eimi.

Akari had drunken half of the bottle before she had fallen asleep.

* * *

Eimi was pissed off hours after she had hung up on the woman. _That woman is so selfish! Check up on your daughter, you stupid woman!_ But, Eimi couldn't say that she wasn't surprised. Akari was already a person who was detached from people but she wanted the woman to be able to look at Seira and just _talk_ to her but she couldn't even do that because Akari was very in touch with her emotions like Seira was. "Eimi-san?" The woman looked down at her new foster daughter and she couldn't help but wince at the girl's heartbroken look.

She wanted to tell her that her mother wasn't truly heartless but she knew that those words would mean nothing to her as she watched Seira sobbed into her hands. Soon, Seira had changed onto sobbing onto Eimi because Eimi wasn't heartless.

Eimi wasn't a woman who drunk alcohol on the daily basis.

Eimi wasn't Mimori Akari.

Eimi was assigned to be Seira's foster parent due to the fact that Akari wasn't qualified to take care of the girl. It had been stated on multiple occasions that Akari was unsuitable to have Seira until she learned how to control herself as an alcoholic but Eimi knew how the woman rolled with alcohol. She knew that the woman loved to drink.

However, the woman was also emotionally abusive, whether she knows it or even cares to know about it, which was another reason why Eimi didn't want Seira even _around_ the woman. _Who degrades their child for having anxiety?_ Eimi was horrified when she heard that line from Akari.

It was a cold _have fun with an anxiety-ridden kid_. Eimi hated that she could just rehear that in her mind but it hurt to hear the tone of how it was said and _who_ was saying it. Eimi sighed as she was glad that Seira didn't hear that from her mother. She knew that the girl's heart would be even more shattered if she learned what her mother had really thought about her.

Eimi was horrified that the woman cared nothing about her ex husband's death but she knew that she was hoping too much for the woman to even talk to Seira herself. She knew that the woman avoided Seira like the plague only because she didn't know how to properly react to the girl and she hides it by making harsh jabs towards the girl. Eimi used to believed that Akari didn't mean the jabs but now, she really believed that Akari didn't give a flying _fuck_ about her daughter.


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For fans of Saint Tail, here is my discord invite link: https://discord.gg/NygbqxGh  
> Please join if you want to.

Eimi hugged Seira as the girl curled up in the woman's lap. They were waiting for Meimi and Genichiro to arrive home so Eimi could introduce Meimi to her now foster sister in her best friend. "What if she gets angry?" Seira asked and Eimi continued to hug the girl for as long the girl needed the hug to be.

"That won't happen. Meimi loves you. She tells me everything about you, especially how you've been feeling." Eimi tells Seira and the girl sighed as she cuddled with the woman and Eimi smiled softly as she pulled Seira into her lap to comfort her even more.

"I just don't want to be a bother to you." Seira spoke softly as she whined at the fact that her mother wasn't going to visit her. Eimi hadn't told her what she had said about her. Eimi couldn't do that to Seira as she didn't want to see Seira sob her life away.

"Seira, sweetie, you're not a bother. Me and Genichiro picked to be your foster parents in case your parents just happen to be unable to take care of you." Eimi explained to Seira and the girl softly smiled at Eimi's words. The girl then frowned.

"Mom said something, didn't she?" Eimi cursed the girl's ability to notice people's cruelty towards her.

"Seira." The woman spoke and Seira simply shook her head.

"It's fine. I'm...used to it." Seira had picked her words carefully and Eimi had noticed it from the way she had spoken and she frowned.

"You shouldn't be used to that, Seira. Akari is..." Eimi trailed off when Seira spoke about her mother.

"She's difficult to understand, yes but she could have handled raising me better." Seira spoke with a bitter tone as she frowned to herself at the thought of her mother not caring about her.

"I'm sorry, Seira. I'm so sorry." Eimi apologized to the emotionally hurt girl as she hugged her.

That was how Genichiro and Meimi had found the duo but both of them noticed that Seira had seemingly shrunk onto herself and that made Meimi get a very bad feeling in her stomach as she watched Seira hide herself from the world as she watched her mother try to get the girl's attention.

"This was supposed to be a glorious situation but things happened." Eimi spoke to Meimi as she frowned at the girl as she attempted to smile at her daughter. "She is your new foster sister now." Eimi spoke as she broke down in tears over Seira's state. Meimi grew happy at the fact that Seira was her new foster sister but she hated that she was so emotionally _hurt_. Meimi stayed with the slightly older girl until she had started to respond to her surroundings.

When Seira responded to Meimi's action of petting her hair, Meimi smiled softly as she hugged the girl. "M...mi." Seira struggled to speak as she felt the girl touching her hair.

"Don't force yourself to talk. Mom told me." Seira shuddered at the fact that Meimi knew about her mother. "Your mother is horrible."

Seira hummed at her words. It sounded so real when another person told her but she thought it was normal for someone to not care about her problems and since the last three or four years, she was learning that it definitely wasn't normal to find out that her mother didn't care about her anxiety. Seira sighed as she leaned up, only to plop her head back onto Meimi's stomach. Meimi didn't react, which was normal for her. Seira still couldn't bring herself to speak and so she cuddled with Meimi. Meimi enjoyed holding Seira as the girl was very calming for the Haneoka family members as they had practically adopted her but now, she was their foster daughter.

She was at a place where she was loved and belonged and yet, she still wanted her father and her mother. Her father was a person she could never get back. Her mother was someone who barely seen her ever since she had turned ten and yet, she still wanted to see the terrible woman. When Seira had fallen asleep, Meimi left her alone to give her the peace and quiet that the girl deserved. Meimi then found Eimi and Genichiro.

"She still wants Akari, Genichiro. I get why she does but she also knows the woman is horrible." Eimi was telling Genichiro about everything that had happened today and it pissed Meimi off that the woman had responded to the death of her ex-husband that way. She also couldn't believe that Seira wanted to give the woman a time of the day when the woman never did that for her. But she then remembered that Seira was so very kind, even though it was one of the girl's main faults. Meimi knew that Seira's kindness was going to do nothing but get her hurt one day.

Meimi sighed as she looked back at the room she had left Seira in to let her sleep easy.

* * *

Akari sighed as she simply stared at the man. She had told him once too many times to leave her alone and he was getting that through that thick skull of his. Akari then huffed a bit. "For the last time, Yamato, I don't want you." Akari told the man and Yamato reacted by grabbing onto the door before it had slammed shut in his face once again.

"What is it that you don't like?" Yamato questioned, making Akari simply stare at him once more as she didn't answer the man's question.

"Get off of my property before I kill you, Yamato." Akari warned the man and the man immediately took her threat as serious as he removed himself from her doorway. Akari was glad that the man had took her warning seriously this time around. The last time he showed up, he didn't and it caused him to nearly lose his life because Akari wasn't a weak woman. She took the pleasure in fighting back and she enjoyed seeing the blood from the people that fought with her. The woman didn't care if she had to put people in the hospital, she was going to protect herself.

Akari was glad that she had managed to scare off Yamato yet once again. _The next time he comes over, I'm going to kill him._ She thought as she glared at the ground as she slammed her apartment door shut, which frightened her neighbors, but they understood, seeing that Akari had been dealing with the man for a couple of months now and it was very safe to assume that the man was a stalker.

Akari's phone then rung and she answered it. "This is Mimori." She spoke, fingering her pocket for the picture of Seira. When she didn't feel it in her pocket, she became a little confused but she then just continued to talk to the person she was on the phone with.

That night, Akari woke up from a nightmare with one person on her mind. "Seira!" She shouted out in fright as she looked around with a fright. That was when she remembered that the photo was gone and her hatred towards Yamato grew tenfold that night.

* * *

Yamato was looking at the picture that Akari had of her kid and the man hated that the girl had some of her father's genes. _It would be the perfect photo, if she just looked like me._ The man thought as he rubbed the photo. Yamato turned turned the photo onto its back, seeing the little note Akari had written for the girl. _I'm sorry, Seira. I know I was a horrible parent to you and nothing I say now will make up for that._ The man could tell that the note was unfinished, seeing that the Akari had been writing some words but it was scribbled off but Yamato could make out the words _I love you_. The man then smiled. "So, you're not all that bad, are you, darling?" The man asked as he turned the photo back around to look at the girl's photo.

The man smiled as he suddenly came up with a plan the more he looked at the photo. "It's her kid but it's also another man's kid." Yamato then realized that he couldn't get mad at the child. She obviously couldn't pick her own set of parents but he realized that he wanted to help Akari actually care for her daughter and he smirked as he wondered how to go about his plan to make Akari love him. _No harm comes to the kid._ The man reminded himself as he pocketed the picture he had stolen from Akari.

* * *

The next day, Seira was back at school as she solemnly spoke to her classmates. Her classmates appreciated that she was still able to talk to them but they never forced her to speak when Seira became too tired or too bothered to do so. When it was the end of the day, Seira was simply standing outside of the building, thinking.

"Mimori-chan." Sawatari called out to her softly and Seira turned to him, breaking out of her thoughts. _Oh!_ She thought as she blushed at the sight of the blonde-haired teenager.

"Sawatari-kun." Seira muttered. "Did you need something?" The boy blushed at her words but then he worked up the courage to ask her something.

"Do you have a moment to spare?" He asked, his face still bright red. Seira was blushing to but she didn't understand why but she did know that being around Sawatari made her feel weird but it was a good kind of weird.

Sawatari led Seira towards a bench that was right beside a tree and they both sat down on it. "How...How have you been doing lately?" He asked and Seira smiled softly at the question before her smile turned sad.

"It's rough. I'm being fostered by Meimi's parents so I won't be alone now." Sawatari was glad that Seira had foster parents that would take very good care of her. "It just that...I want to talk to my mother but she's emotionally unavailable." Seira admitted to him and Sawatari frowned at that. _Must be an absent mother then._ He thought as he glanced at Seira with sad eyes.

He wanted to help her but he didn't know how but he did pull his own face closer to Seira's and it made the girl blush at the close proximity that the two had at the moment. "I know I don't know how to help, Mimori-chan but I..." Sawatari spoke talking as his lips found Seira's and the girl's eyes widened in shock at the kiss. Seira allowed herself to relax into the kiss as she kissed Sawatari back.

The two teens kissed for a few more minutes before they broke apart the kiss but then the realization hit and they both blushed at the other. _Holy crap, I actually did that!_ Sawatari thought. _Holy crap, I actually enjoyed that!_ Seira thought as she stared into Sawatari's eyes or at least, tried to. She was too embarrassed to even look at him. She was just glad that Sawatari was in the same boat as he couldn't look into her eyes either.


	5. Chapter 4

After they shared their first kiss with each other, Seira and Sawatari had been avoiding one another. It was painfully obvious to Meimi as to why. "Did you two kiss?" Meimi asked Seira one day and the girl covered her face with her hands.

"Yes, we did." Seira admitted a few minutes of silence and Meimi sighed at the girl's response.

"That's better than I thought." Meimi spoke as she smiled at Seira and the girl looked up at her best friend.

"What did you think we did?" Seira asked, almost afraid of the answer from the way Meimi was looking at her.

"I thought you two had sex." Meimi spoke without shame and Seira blushed from the words Meimi had just spoken.

"We just can't _do_ that!" Seira shrieked and Meimi raised her eyebrow at the girl's words.

"You're acting like having sex is a sin." Meimi spoke with a bitter tone, something that Seira caught and she immediately tried to fix things.

"No! That's not true. I just don't think he would want to do that with me?" The more Seira spoke, the more Meimi was giving her this look of disbelief.

"Okay, no. You two have kissed and you think he _doesn't_ want you?" Meimi asked and the girl blushed at her words. _I come from a broken family._ She thought, but she didn't know that she had said that out loud. "That's not your fault. That's why your father took you away from your mother." She tells Seira and the girl shook her head as she frowned to herself.

"That doesn't change the fact that I come from a broken family, Meimi. I don't understand people because I'm scared to get the same reaction I got from my mother from them." She revealed to Meimi, which made Meimi look at her best friend in guilt. Seira then frowned, showing that she had said too much. "I'm sorry, Meimi." She spoke, causing Meimi to place her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"It's not your fault, Seira." Meimi tells her, wanting the girl to know that it wasn't her fault. "You're still grieving and your mother isn't helping you with the grieving process." Meimi spoke, hugging Seira close to her. Seira smiled in the hug. _She always knows what to say._ She thought as she allowed herself to melt into the hug. "You've tried to get your mother to understand that you want her to be there for you." Meimi tells Seira. "It's not your fault that she won't open up to you." Meimi tells Seira, trying to make her feel better. She knew that it was working but she really hated the fact that Seira's mother wasn't a woman that is willing to talk to her child. She knew that Seira just wanted to talk to her mother but it was the fact that her mother wasn't willing to do the same to her.

That was why Meimi wanted her to forget her mother.

The woman was a piece of shit and she now knew why her mother had said that about the woman. _That woman didn't even want to be here for Seira for her father's funeral!_ The woman pissed of Meimi in more ways than one and she knew it frustrated her because she wants Seira to have someone there for her and if it had to be Meimi's own mother, then so be it. At least, her mother wouldn't talk shit about Seira to another adult.

"Mother is mother." Seira spoke, knowing that she wasn't excusing her mother's behavior and when Meimi recognized that she wasn't trying to excuse the woman's behavior, Meimi pulled Seira into a hug.

Meimi really wanted to tell Seira to forget about her mother but she knew that the girl was too fragile to hear those types of words right now and so, she hugged Seira, softly smiling. "You're my foster sister now." Meimi grinned at Seira and the girl rolled her eyes at how silly Meimi was being. Meimi then perked up, realizing something.

"Does this mean I have to address you by onee-chan now?" She asked the girl and Seira frowned. _I forgot about that._ The girl thought, wondering about that herself. The girl then realized that she really didn't want Meimi to address her with that honorific.

"No." Seira spoke softly, trembling. She didn't want her being Meimi's foster sister to change anything about their friendship. "Please don't. Treat me like normal." Seira begged Meimi and the girl's hug on her became tighter.

"Of course, Seira. Anything you want." Meimi answered, seeing that Seira really did not want anything to change with their relationship now. The two girls stayed like that until Eimi had knocked on the door, signaling to them that it was time for dinner. "You okay to eat?" She asked Seira as she helped the girl up to her feet.

"I should be fine." Seira answered, making sure that she had given Meimi a soft smile, which told the girl that she was fine.

"Promise me you'll talk to me if you're not okay." Meimi spoke, reaching out to grab Seira's hand, rubbing her knuckles.

At first, Seira almost denied it but she stopped when she noticed the look in Meimi's eyes. The girl's gaze was heated and Seira knew what emotion that was and she knew that nothing would fight against it. _She is getting more defensive of me._ The girl thought as she watched as Meimi looked at her with a soft yet heated gaze. While Seira had never understood it before, she understood it now. She knew that it was the one character trait that Meimi had when it came to her.

_Protective._

Seira could finally put a word on it. Seira's eyes then widened. _That's why she looked so displeased at the thought of me and Sawatari having sex._ The girl thought as she blushed at the thought. She wasn't going to lie and say that it didn't interest her but it wasn't the first thing on her list. _I'm a more romantic person at heart._ The girl thought as she allowed herself to look at Meimi, who had opened the door and was now talking to her...No, that's wrong. Seira shook her head.

Eimi was _their_ mother.

Seira was officially a part of the Haneoka family.


	6. Chapter 5

The Haneoka matriarch was looking at her new charge with a very fond smile as she watched as the girl and Meimi playfully wrestled with each other. It was obvious to Eimi who was winning but she was glad that Seira was finding the enjoyment in losing. Eimi also found something in Meimi's gaze that was making her _extremely_ protective of Seira. _Don't tell me that there is a boy trying to win Seira's heart._ The woman thought as she watched how Meimi frowned to herself when Seira started talking about Sawatari. _There is a boy!_ The woman thought with a soft smile but she knew why Meimi was acting the way she was. _Oh, she's jealous. She always had Seira's attention and now there is someone else with her attention. Meimi, my daughter, you have a lot to learn._ Eimi thought as she softly grinned, knowing that she would talk to Meimi about her jealousy tomorrow. She wanted the two girls to enjoy their time together tonight before Meimi's protective nature got in the way of their relationship and she knew that it would ruin it if she didn't talk to Meimi.

However, she was also worried about Seira. _That poor girl did watch her father die right in front of her._ When Eimi remembered that one detail, she then became fearful for Seira's safety. "Seira, sweetie. Can you come over here for a minute?" She asked and Meimi immediately let up the girl so she could go talk to their mother. _Their._ The fact that she and Seira shared Meimi's mother made Meimi happy as she could feel the happiness from Seira at having someone taking care of her. Meimi decided to go get something to drink and she walked out of the living room, leaving Eimi and Seira alone. "Seira, sweetie. I don't want to bring up bad memories but I need to know." Seira's eyes widened at the woman's words.

"Yes?" She spoke, hoping that Eimi wouldn't ask about her father's murder.

"I'm sorry, Seira but did you see your dad's killer?" Eimi apologized beforehand and she hated that she had even brought it up, seeing that Seira had started crying once again. Eimi frowned, feeling a pang of guilt at asking Seira. "I'm sorry, Seira." She apologized as she opened up her arms, letting Seira hide in her arms as she cried in her chest. Eimi didn't know how many times she had apologized; she just knew that she needed to do it.

Eimi never noticed but Meimi had actually slipped out of the house to scream out her frustrations as she had heard the conversation that their mother had just tried to initiate with Seira. _Damn it, mother! You knew better than that! The wound is too fresh for her._ The girl thought as she knew that Seira would crack because she wasn't ready to answer questions about her father's murder. "Mother, why would you ask her that? If she had actually seen the person that had committed the crime, she wouldn't be here now." That was the thing that scared Meimi the most because Seira couldn't have seen her father's murderer because she was still _alive_. Meimi knew that criminals were too smart to let someone that had seen them commit their crimes walk away. Meimi knew that a **killer** of all criminals, definitely wouldn't let a person that had seen them off without a warning, which made Meimi come to the conclusion that Seira hadn't seen the killer but the killer had seen her.

_Holy shit._ Meimi thought, not enjoying what her thoughts were telling her. Her gut feeling was also telling her that something was going to happen and she didn't like it. She didn't want to think about Seira being in danger because of a deranged killer being out on the streets of Seika City. _Asuka Jr, I hope you and your dad can stop the killer before they strike again._ Meimi thought as she didn't want Seira to get hurt or worse by the killer. She didn't want to think about that. _Think about something else!_ Meimi begged herself before her thoughts fell onto Seira's and Sawatari's developing relationship and she frowned at the thought of them dating. Meimi gritted her teeth, hating herself for feeling jealous of their slowly developing relationship but Meimi knew why she was so out of shape with the thought.

Meimi had already adopted Seira as her sister before the girl had officially become her foster sister. _Is this what Mom was explaining as being protective over someone?_ Meimi thought as she looked down at her hands before she had clenched her fists. _But, why am I jealous? Seira gives me a lot of her attention._ The girl thought, not knowing that she had spoken her thought out loud. "You're finally sharing her, Meimi." Meimi was alerted by her mother's voice and she turned to the woman, who was holding Seira as she held the sleeping girl in her arms.

"But...But..." Meimi didn't know what to say to Eimi's words.

"You never had to share Seira with anyone. She always gave you her complete attention. Even as Saint Tail, you were the most important person to her." Eimi explained to Meimi and the girl looked at the sleeping Seira with a soft smile.

"I love her. She's finally my sister." Meimi spoke and Eimi nodded her head, smiling at Meimi.

"You got your wish." Eimi tells Meimi and the girl smiled.

"Yeah, I did." Meimi spoke, smiling at Seira as Eimi continued to hold her.

* * *

In another part of Seika City, a cloaked person was breathing very heavily. _That man wasn't even a fighter. He just fought me because I threatened that kid!_ The person sighed as they still felt empty after their recent kill. The person wasn't even angry about the kid's escape. _She was too young. She was clearly thirteen or fourteen._ The person thought as they ran a hand through their hair.

The person went about their life like regular until they had found another person to hunt down.

* * *

The next morning, Detective Asuka was looking at another corpse. _First, Seira's father and now this poor girl._ Detective Asuka was glad that Seira wasn't killed alongside her father, seeing the corpse of the girl in front of him. "The killer seems to target people after a certain age." Daiki Asuka told the man and he frowned at his son being at the crime scene. _Damn it._ The man thought, knowing that he shouldn't want to get his son involved in gruesome cases but he knew that his boy couldn't sit still when there was a case going on. As much as Detective Asuka found the girl irritating, he really hoped that Saint Tail would appear to take Daiki's mind off of the murder case.


End file.
